1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to information processing apparatuses including a function for simultaneously displaying a plurality of independent windows on a display screen, a screen display method and a screen display program for simultaneously displaying a plurality of independent windows on a display screen, and a recording medium having the screen display program recorded therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, information processing apparatuses such as personal computers have become widely used. Many operating systems for controlling the operation of these information processing apparatuses include a multi-window function, which is a function for simultaneously displaying a plurality of windows on a display screen.
In information processing apparatuses including the multi-window function, a plurality of application programs can be running, and a plurality of windows corresponding to these application programs can be displayed on a display screen. In these information processing apparatuses, for example, when a user operates an input operation unit, such as a keyboard or a mouse, the order in which the windows overlap one another can be quickly changed. Also, data can be exchanged and various interlocking operations can be performed between application programs and/or between an application program and the operating system.
In the above-described information processing apparatuses, in many cases, the user is required to perform various setup procedures to execute an application program. In such a case, the information processing apparatus with the multi-window function displays a window serving as a main screen for the application program and an additional dedicated window serving as a setup screen where buttons for allowing the user to perform various setup procedures are disposed.
In the information processing apparatus, for example, when an application program to be setup and another application program are running at the same time, the information processing apparatus simultaneously displays a plurality of windows on the display screen. It is difficult for the user to understand the association between the main screen and the setup screen for the application program to be setup.
When the user performs various setup procedures via the setup screen in the information processing apparatus, it is difficult for the user understand which portion of the corresponding main screen reflects the setting being changed. When portions unnecessary for setup are viewed on the display screen of the information processing apparatus, the user can see a group of buttons unrelated to setup and may become confused.